My mum has a REALLY old computer and we have been advised not worth repairing but we can get the photos off and save them to an external hard drive. What do I need and were will I get the best price. thanks
Need to back up some photos from hard drive on REALLY old computer - advise please
hsk on 10/09/2013 - 06:59
Comments
This. There are two possible types:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATANote that 'REALLY old' is very subjective (mostly from how old you are). If the drive is over 10 years old it is Parallel ATA (commonly refered to as 'IDE'). If it is 5 years or less it is Serial ATA (SATA). Anywhere in between could go either way, have a look at the pictures.
If it is IDE you might have trouble finding an enclosure.
Notice when I asked about connectors, I said machine, and not hard drive.
If there is a USB connector, then he might be able to plug a USB drive directly into the machine.
Getting an enclosure with IDE connector won't be that hard, but getting a new one might provide a challenge. I still have a USB with IDE enclosure at home and I am sure many people conscious of back ups probably still so and would be willing to help out.
Thanks it is probably the older type as I am pretty sure it is more than 5 years old. Mum has been quoted $50 to take the photos but I need to get an external hard drive?? I do not have the machine with me, it is at Mums (2 hours from me) but from memory it has a disk drive and a couple of usb ports.
You might find someone here who is willing to help out close to your mum for less than $50, depending upon what you want done and whether the location of the data to be recovered is known, or needs to be found as recovery.
Thanks it is probably the older type as I am pretty sure it is more than 5 years old.
You didn't actually read my comment. It could still be SATA, better to check.
You have two options:
1: Get any new USB drive. Plug it in. Copy everything you want off. This assumes the system is in a generally working state.
2: Take the drive out of the machine. Put it in an external case. You can then connect it to any modern machine and get to your data.
I wouldn't pay $50 for this.
Not sure about that as I took it to a computer shop to get them to advise, they said not worth fixing but could get the photos off for $50 - the only other quote I got was $90 so was thinking $50 was OK?? maybe I need to search further. Mum is in Gosford so if anyone reading this knows of a cheaper place I would like to hear from you. thanks
As a business I'm sure few would bother for less than $50. To do it yourself is not hard. Unless the drive is damaged, in which case it wouldn't be a $50 charge anyway.
To tell drive type -
IDE drives (old type) have 40 pins (in 2 rows) on the back, and a large 4-pin power socket next to it.
Sata drive plugs are very different. See google search.
As mentioned get a case, on ebay I think they're < $10.Personally, $50 might be worth it so photos are transferred safely by experienced person.
something like this would do the trick, though with a little more research you could probably find a better alternative as this one is obviously just typical cheap ebay crap from hong kong. I'm sure it would at least work a couple time though or longer with a little re-jigging
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-5-3-5-Dual-SATA-IDE-Hard-Disk-D…Depending on how intact the data is, you may or may not need to use some recovery software. A free one is Recuva
http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download
or easeus recovery wizard free edition
http://download.cnet.com/EaseUS-Data-Recovery-Wizard-Free-Ed…
The paid version of easeus is pretty decent cause it does complete recovery and deleted partition recovery and is pretty good at keeping directories intact. Saved my ass and a few assignments when I accidentally formatted the wrong drive in college lol. Probably got about 80-90% of my data back and intact. After a hardrive crash however it was a bit messy.effectiveness of recovery has been pretty much equal on both programs - if one file wont recover from one program, the other can't get it either.
Here a dirt cheap way to do it - it's easy and she can do it herself:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400532797635
I bought one from this seller. It took about 35 days to arrive. It does the same as the above unit dreadpiratedan posted, but cheaper. Very easy to use and doesn't require software.
You just remove the old drive from the old computer (four screws and two cables), plug in whatever type of data cable that drive takes, the power lead, and plug the USB cable into the newer computer that you're copying the photos to. (BTW, the cables are all different, so it's impossible to plug them in the wrong way.)
Then she just clicks My Computer, clicks the new Drive that pops up, selects the photos, and copy & paste them to the new computer.
From the sound of it you aren't experienced in assembling or disassembling computers.
Do you have any friends or relatives who are experienced with this? If you do, they might be willing and able (and have the parts) to do this easily. Maybe even for free.If not, I think you should just pay the $50 to get the shop to do it.
I know that being ozbargain I'll probably get slammed for saying it, but if you're only going to save about $40 at most, is it worth the hassle?
Edit:
Although - and as stated above - if the computer is in working order and has USB ports, just plug a USB drive into it and copy desired files.
My comments above really relate to pulling the computer apart.… if you're only going to save about $40 at most, is it worth the hassle?
I think so. Besides, it's the principle of the thing. $50 to do what… Click the mouse buttons about seven times and drink a coffee while they copy over.
Umart Online Sydney
This might help Vantec SATA/IDE to USB2.0 Adapter $19.00
http://www.umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2…
That's actually the same thing as the $8.52 ebay link above (hey, it is ozbargain!). Actually, umart doesn't show the different hard drive cables you might need either. It should have them, but it might not.
Oh - and I forgot before, the ebay one also came with a free mains adapter. The power unit is just a normal computer power socket though. So if someone doesn't like using the adaptor, just use a spare computer cable.
Thank you for the input here.
It does come with a power adaptor and power connection to Molex. It has both IDE and SATA connector.
EBAY is a great platform for foreign sellers who do not pay tax for importing commercial products; who do not pay tax in our labour system.
Ebay seller offers$8.52
Let me break it down:
$8.52 includes the ebay 9% advertising fee. So from production to sales, the max cost is $7.81. In my personal opinion, this is not affordable in Australia.
Yes, it is an OZBARGAIN. I agree with you. Pls bargain with Oz sellers.
We are Australian Owned company. We have shop front here. We have Australian labour. We have post sales service. If we want to have a better economy, please support local sellers.
Thank you!
Sorry - I wasn't trying to take away business, because I didn't even notice until now that it was your own link/store. Was just trying to present the OP with a better bargain.
Actually, I already paid full price for this a few years ago. About $80 at the time. But ours broke and I only needed the data part - still had all the other bits. So I wasn't going to spend another $30-$40 (after postage).
You say the shop said "not worth repairing"? Does that mean it's not in working condition? Do you know what the condition is? Does it power up and show you a desktop? Can you get at least that much info from your mum? Can you take the computer to your home and give it a more thorough assessment?
This is where a friendly IT support person comes in useful. Depending on the meaning of "not worth repairing", options could range from the simplest copying the photos off; booting with a CD first then copying the photos off; to moving the hard disk to an enclosure connected to another computer.
I believe it is hard to get spare parts most likely if the computer is too old. If the service charge + price for parts is $150~200, it may be good for him to get a new i3 machine around $350~400.
Pretty sure it still starts up just think sometimes it shuts down without any apparent reason.
Ok, so you might be able to copy photos off it before it shuts down. Maybe also do this on a cooler day as heat tends to trigger shutdowns because the heat sink compound has become less effective.
Look on the motherboard, ie open the box it mayhave blown caps. Which explains why it shutsdown.
Does it reboot or just turn off?
I have a computer that does that. When it does it, I know it's time to pull the case off and vacuum out the dust.
Definitely well worth a try OP. Mine was doing the same thing and this worked for me
thanks, for information you are right I know nothing about computers and doubt I could do it myself. Now I just wonder if I do copy it to an external hard drive I will need to purchase one? What is the best deal, OR will I need to buy something else? I am pretty sure the $50 quoted was for labour only no mention of parts? thanks
If the computer generally works just use any USB stick you have lying around and copy the files off. If we are talking about a lot of stuff you might need to buy a big stick or portable HD.
I assume the store will burn the files to a CD/DVD for you. Also an option if the computer has a burner and you know how to do this.
thanks
goto dick smith or officeworks and pick up a 1TB usb drive. if you have a desktop pc you can just plug the connections from the back of it and plug into the old pc. but for $50 it's a pretty good deal - they will take care of it. you can even try to sell the old pc for $50 on gumtree
What connectors has the machine got?
Your best bet is probably to take out the hard disk (most probably IDE) and put it in an external case with USB connectivity.
Your cost is then the USB case and you can copy the photos where ever you want, and easily duplicate to CD/DVD.
Pax